I have been messing with ettercap for some time now and understand how it works on the application, protocol, OSI levels, etc.

What I'm not sure about is the harware.

I know that switches work at the layer 2 (MAC) and sometimes layer 3 (network/vlans).

In this case I'm using DLink and 3Com unmanaged workgroup switches. All layer 2.

I have not had an opportunity to play with it on managed switches of any type... as my experimenting is limited mostly to my home network.

Can using a program like ettercap damage a switch? Since it is forcing it to act as a hub and repeat all traffic through all ports...

Thanks in advance!